


Heat

by orphan_account



Category: Malcolm in the Middle
Genre: Fluff, Heat Stroke, Hurt Malcolm, Hurt/Comfort, It’s short but sweet, Malcolm Whump, Nervous, Other, Platonic Relationship, around second season, brothers being brothers, guilty reese, happy endings, heat exhaustion, hospital stays, i understand no one will probably read this, if I had more patience I would’ve thrown more in there, malcolm needs a hug, quick one shot, reese is a good brother, reese needs a hug, slight angst, slight reese whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:21:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22220959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: On a day like today, the sun was beating harshly. Its bright light reflected hazardously on cars, windows and anything that was a light color. The heat emanating from the giant ball of gas sank into the ground, making concrete and asphalt hot enough to give a person second to third degree burns. It certainly was a day to be relaxing at the side of a pool, or staying inside with the air conditioning, making sure that you were drinking appropriate amounts of water. It certainly wasn’t a day to be lost, out of breath and out of water.--Malcolm get's heat stroke, Reese get's heat exhaustion. In the end, it's okay though because they have each other.
Relationships: Lois/Hal (Malcolm in the Middle), Malcolm & Reese (Malcolm in the Middle)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 67





	Heat

**Author's Note:**

> I know that no one will probably read this because Mitm is kinda old and.........yeah, but I wanted to post a quick thing I wrote because why not. So for those of you reading, you have my humble thanks and appreciation :)

**Disclaimer: the original story and it’s characters do not belong to me, it is only a non-profit fan work created out of respect for the original work. If I have crossed a line or written something that the creator prohibits, I will take this work down immediately**

* * *

On a day like today, the sun was beating harshly. Its bright light reflected hazardously on cars, windows and anything that was a light color. The heat emanating from the giant ball of gas sank into the ground, making concrete and asphalt hot enough to give a person second to third degree burns. It certainly was a day to be relaxing at the side of a pool, or staying inside with the air conditioning, making sure that you were drinking appropriate amounts of water. It certainly _wasn’t_ a day to be _lost_ , _out of breath_ and _out of water_.

“I still can’t believe you drank all the water!” Malcolm exclaimed; voice tired and irritated.

“Who said it was _our_ water?” Reese questioned, equally frustrated.

Malcolm huffed, raising his hand to shield his squinted eyes. Well, he and his brothers had always been magnets for trouble. Sometimes it was purposeful, other times it was sheer luck. Malcolm occasionally thought that the world liked to get retribution on them for their bad attitudes and mischievous actions. _This_ time had not been completely their faults. A family outing had resulted in two of the three children accidentally going missing, which really, Malcolm didn’t understand how his mother didn’t notice immediately. But with the day his mom was having, he didn’t want to question it, nor did he want to think back on her fury. He shuddered at the thought of her, thinking about how mad she will be when she realizes. First at their father and then at them.

Malcolm and Reese had decided to go “site-seeing” in the morning, sneaking out when their mother was having a fit of rage. It was only an overnight stay, but it was still expensive and bargaining for a proper deal was of course important. Malcolm really should have thought it through more before letting himself be convinced by _Reese_ of all people, but he yearned for adventure. Even though his mother thought that the small town in the middle of a rocky wasteland seemed interesting and full of cheap, free things – such as a few beauty treatments that her and Dewey had gone to check out quickly after a shared look – Malcolm thought it was boring. Yes, full of history, sure. But it’s not like Malcolm didn’t already know it, he picked it up by skimming through the small pamphlet his father had passed back.

It was kiddy activities, stuff that involved geology – but not really the fundamentals, so Malcolm found himself correcting a lot of employees – and fancy, sparkly rocks and precious stones. Basic tourist trap things. Maybe when he was Dewey’s age, he would have found it kind of enjoyable, but he was older, and it was blisteringly hot. It wasn’t quite as warm when he had snuck out with Reese. But he was regretting his decision now that there was no shade and miles of _nothing_. Reese had apparently thought there would be something more than tall rocks and hills. His mind thought he could find gold. Without tools. _Here._ So he dragged Malcolm along. And drank _all the water_.

The terrain had a lot of hills, but not a lot of shade, it was hard to describe but easy to get lost. Malcolm couldn’t even see where they had come from. But the sun was beating down on them and he knew they needed to get back. They had started to head back in the general direction after going to the top of a hill. Malcolm did _not_ feel well, though. His vision swam uncomfortably with every step he took, dizziness swarming him. His lips felt like they stuck together, he yearned for water, suddenly very angry again that Reese had selfishly taken all the water for himself. He had made himself much better off. It didn’t help that Malcolm was not nearly as in shape as his brother. He looked like he was beginning to get a sunburn, Malcolm was sure he was as well. Reese glanced over at him, scowling.  
  


  
“What are you looking at!?”

“Nothing! I’m just hot—”  
  
  


“Well I am too!”

Malcolm rolled his eyes. There was no point in explaining how he felt to his brother. They were both uncomfortable. Though his mind was hazed, Malcolm knew that there was something wrong with him. A grimace passed over his face when his stomach twisted painfully, cramps tightening in different areas at once. It almost felt like a wrench. He couldn’t tell if it was from the sun, but there was a very prominent headache, stabbing through one of Malcolm’s eyes and straight to his brain – at least it felt like it. Malcolm staggered, and Reese turned on him.

“I can’t believe you couldn’t find any gold out here!” Reese suddenly exclaimed. “For getting us stuck, at least we could be rich!”

“ _Me?!_ ” Malcolm responded rapidly, not finding the energy to raise his voice to Reese’s level. “ _You_ got us stuck out here! And you really thought we could find gold!? You were the one that tricked me to come with you!”

“Should have thought that through! I thought you were supposed to be a genius!” Reese spat back.

“And _I_ thought you had at least an ounce of intelligence…” Malcolm said quietly, suddenly feeling very dizzy and disoriented. “…maybe we should take a break.”

Reese obviously wanted to continue the conversation. He was shouting in Malcolm’s face as his younger brother sat on the hot ground for a second. Malcolm didn’t quite comprehend his words, suddenly trying to remember what they were doing out here. He had a second of panic before remembering the current situation.

“Are you even listening!?”

“What?” Malcolm questioned, voice sounding weak and stammered. “Reese…I don’t…I don’t feel good…”

Reese actually hesitated. He stared down at his brother and pondered his words. Malcolm was pale. Paler than he had ever seen him. His shirt was drenched in sweat, yet Reese couldn’t see perspiration on his brother, and the color had drained from his lips, which was a huge contrast to his tomato red face. Reese opened his mouth to resume arguing, but Malcolm’s eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head and his body fell backwards. Reese released a sharp cry of shock and rushed to catch Malcolm before his head hit a rock. Two seconds later and Malcolm’s brilliant blue eyes were fluttering open, confusion and pain noticeable in his expression.

“Malcolm, what the heck!”

“W-where…are we…? H-hey, don’ touch me—” Malcolm sat up suddenly, and his body lurched.

Once more, Reese was shocked. And disgusted. Malcolm retched violently, coughing and sputtering as vomit dripped from his chapped lips. Reese was completely unsure of what to do. When he was finished vomiting, Malcolm turned to Reese and scowled, body shaking and breathing rapid and shallow.

“H-hey…w-w-where are w-we?” Malcolm asked, eyes out of focus.

“We need to get back.” Reese said suddenly, blinking out of his shock. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  
“Oh. Hey, c-can you make me some food?”

Reese didn’t get a chance to reply, because Malcolm lost consciousness again. This time, he didn’t wake up after two seconds. Reese’s adrenaline kicked in and he rushed to his brother’s side. Malcolm was unusually hot, he thought, as he threw the younger boy’s arm around his shoulder and tried lifting him. Films made it look a lot easier to carry someone. Reese was strong, but Malcolm and he were generally the same size, even though Malcolm was a lot lighter and a lot weaker. But Reese was getting weaker by the second, the more time he was in the sun and Malcolm was dead weight.

Reese managed to get started, feeling a little sympathy when his brother’s knees and shins dragged across the rocky ground and ripped open skin. Reese stumbled a few times, tearing his own knees open. He continued moving, feeling dizzy and tired. How much longer? He had maneuvered around a hill and spotted the small tourist town that his family had been staying at. It was small, but Reese was sure it had some medical facility. He just needed to find it. And soon. He knew a few things about heat exhaustion, but he wasn’t so sure it was that with his brother. Malcolm’s skin was completely dry. That was _not_ normal by any means. Where Reese was sweating up a storm, Malcolm was producing no perspiration. He was not thinking when he had drunk all that water.

Reese painstakingly came to the side of the road leading towards the town. Reese’s breathing had become shallow, dizziness overtaking him slowly as he carried his brother. He approached rapidly, worried about his brother. He knew that heat stroke could kill. He began to shout for help. There was a car coming. Reese waved a free hand while keeping a strong grip on Malcolm, shouting. He hoped that the unconscious form of his brother would attract them. Luckily it did. The car pulled over, and the driver stepped out. It was a kind looking middle aged women. Her appearance reminded Reese a lot of his mom, but she looked a lot nicer.

“Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed. “The air conditioning is on! Get him in quickly!”

Reese was glad she didn’t question the situation. She opened the back door and helped Reese get Malcolm into the car. Reese climbed in with his brother as the woman climbed in the front.

“Take off any unnecessary clothing!” She ordered, making a U-turn and heading back into town.

Reese did as he was told, tugging off his brother’s shirt first. He then moved onto his shoes and his socks. Malcolm was wearing shorts, so he assumed he should leave them on, for his dignity anyways. Reese paused as he battled a fierce bout of vertigo, and then proceeded to fan his brother with a magazine he found in the back.

“Come on, Malcolm! Wake up, please!” He pleaded.

The woman in front was panicking a little. “I-I don’t have anymore water, but the hospital is just around the corner. We’re almost there! Keep fanning him and push the air-conditioning vents towards him, okay? What’s your name?”

“Reese,” he said, fanning harder.

“Okay, Reese. I’m Sydney. Don’t worry! Once we get him there, the doctors will put him in some water and get him awake! He’ll be fine in no time, okay? Is he your friend or your brother?”

“My brother.” Reese replied, using one hand to fan while the other to rub his throbbing head.

“Alright, well don’t worry honey. There’s the hospital now.”

The hospital was not that large, in fact it was only two stories. But if it was enough to help Malcolm…Sydney pulled the car up to the entrance and moved quickly. She ran inside and Reese could see her calling for help. Almost instantly, and perhaps it was because they didn’t see many bad cases in such a small town, a gurney was rushed out by a doctor and two nurses. The car door was opened and then everything happened very fast. Malcolm was lifted out of the car and rushed quickly in and the third nurse stayed to help Reese out of the car.

“Come on, hon’,” said the nurse. “you don’t look good, either.”

Reese followed the nurse and Sydney into the small hospital, staggering a few times. The initial adrenaline rush faded, and Reese felt the effects of the sun. He was soon sitting on a hospital bed, without his shirt a cold-water bottle in his hand. Cloth ice packs had been placed on his neck, under his arm pits and the back of his knees. He had explained briefly what had happened so that the nurses and doctors could have a better understanding and he had quickly cooled down, but Sydney was sitting in there reminding he drink water, while the nurse periodically came in, and eventually had been given a hospital shirt. Reese still had a throbbing headache, but it was beginning to get a little less intense. The scrapes on his knees had been cleaned and bandaged so now he was beginning to feel a little tired. But he couldn’t feel content yet. He had no news on Malcolm.

“Reese, do you have any way to contact your family?” The nurse asked, walking back into the room.

“We were staying at the…hotel…the uh…I can’t remember the name. It’s the big nice one though.”

“I know the one. I’ll call and ask for the Wilkerson’s, correct?”

“Yeah. How’s my brother?”

The nurse’s expression turned somber and she glanced at Sydney. “I think he’s doing a little better, hon. We’ve gotten his temperature down a bit, but he hasn’t woken up. I…I’ll see if we can’t get you in the same room, okay?”

Reese nodded and looked at his lap. He had been given time to think his actions through. Really, it had been his fault. _He_ had been the one that wanted to go out, caught his brother in a moment of weakness and tricked him, _he_ had been the one that thought he could find gold of all things, _he_ had lead them into unknown territory and gotten them lost as the sun got hot and _he_ had taken all the water which lead to Malcolm’s extra dehydration. He couldn’t help but feel bad. He knew he messed up a lot. There was silence in the room, Sydney looked like she wanted to say something, but was unsure if she should. Reese didn’t want to push it, not sure if he wanted a conversation. She said a few things, talked about her husband and her daughter who was in college, and about twenty minutes later the nurse returned.

“Are you doing better, Reese?” She asked, to which he nodded. “Good. Listen, I got ahold of the hotel. Apparently, your parents had checked out and left, but returned when they were missing two children, after looking around town, I guess. Your family should be here soon, the hotel manager was able to inform them. Now, about your brother. If you want, you can come and follow me. We’ll put you in the room with him. Follow me, alright?”

Reese got up in a haste. The hospital felt like a warm place, which was an upgrade from the hospital back home. It still had the cleanly smell that Reese didn’t like, but the décor reminded him of a retirement home or something. There were carpets on the floor in certain places, which seemed like an interesting choice in a place where people were barfing and other stuff all the time. But who was Reese to question it? Malcolm’s room was only a few doors down, and he was disheartened to find out that his brother was not in good shape.

His hair was soaking wet, fans surrounded him, and ice packs were in the same places they had been on Reese. There was an IV drip in his arm, supplying him with a clear liquid. Reese was glad to see Malcolm’s eyes open, but his face was pale, and his mouth hung ajar. His legs had been propped up, on what looked like a tall, thick pillow. He was not wearing a shirt, and his pants had been replaced with a thin, flowy white pair of hospital garments, like Reese had. They were pulled up to his knees, revealing bandaged knees and shins, making Reese feel a little guilty. He looked unwell. Reese took a tentative step forward.

“Malcolm…?”

If Malcolm had heard him, he made no attempt to show him. The doctor standing near Malcolm’s bed looked up and beckoned Reese over to the other bed.

“Have a seat.” The man said, “I’m Doctor Richards. Your brother is still disoriented. I’ll explain his case a little more when your family arriv—”

There was a sudden yelling down the hallway, which Reese immediately recognized. Doctor Richards examined Reese’s expression and chuckled.

“Convenient.”

“It always is…” Reese replied miserably.

“Please calm down, both your sons are doing okay, right this way ma’am!”

Reese looked towards the door. His mother entered, followed by Dewey and his terrified father. Lois looked quite angry. Hal was sweating, but Reese wasn’t sure if it was from being outside or just being in the hospital. Reese knew he hated them a lot. Dewey looked a little confused, and tired. He had dealt with mom all day.

“Reese, Malcolm! You know I have been looking for you _all day long_! We were going to leave and then poof! You disappeared! Then I got a call to find out you were in the hospital!?” Lois close to screamed.

“Mrs. Wilkerson.” Doctor Richards tried to cut in, but Lois had seen both her sons awake and was waiting for an answer from them.

“What do you have to say for yourselves? Hm? Malcolm! I thought you were supposed to be smart! This was not very smart!” Lois exclaimed.

Malcolm’s eyes hadn’t even moved from where he was staring at the ceiling. They were glazed over and distant. Lois opened her mouth to get his attention again, but Richards interrupted.

“Mrs. Wilkerson! Please listen, I understand you are upset with them. But right now, let me explain their health situation. They are both very lucky. This one–"

“Malcolm.” Reese disturbed, earning a glare from his mother.

“ _Malcolm_ ,” Richards corrected himself. “suffered a heat stroke. From what the nurse told me, from what your other son Reese said, they had gone off into the uninhabited rocky areas. They attract a lot of sun when the heat index is high, like today. I’m sure you notice they both have sunburns. Now, Malcolm was extremely dehydrated when he came in. I believe he hasn’t drunk enough water today, even before going out, but the heat stroke didn’t help. When he came in, he had a temperature of around 104 degrees Fahrenheit, we had to immerse him in cool water to get his temperature down. He suffered a seizure, don’t be alarmed, that is normal with heat stroke. We have him on an IV drip full of Sodium Chloride to rehydrate him, it has a few other things inside it that his body is lacking due to his dehydration. Now, Malcolm is an extremely lucky case. Heat stroke can be fatal, and we were worried Malcolm would end up in a coma with how his body was responding at first. Needless to say, he will need recovery time. As you can see, he is disoriented. He hasn’t quite woken up completely, his mind hasn’t seemed to catch up to the situation. It’s experienced great stress and he still has a fever which is being lowered as we speak thanks to the ice packs and the fans.”

Guilt suddenly exploded throughout Reese. The explanation of Malcolm’s condition was a lot for Reese, especially because it was his fault.

“Now, your other son is very lucky. It’s a surprise that he didn’t get heat stroke either. He came in with heat exhaustion, and as you can see, he is doing much better. He would be well enough to leave now, so long as you give him a Gatorade and remind him to continue to drink water. He was hydrated enough throughout the day, I suppose. But he’ll be tired.”

Hal was gripping his wife’s hand. Hearing about his sons was not helping his fear of hospitals. Lois released a sigh and sat on the bed next to Reese. Reese was immediately on defense. His mother was not at all acting how he expected. At first, yes now? No.

“Is Malcolm going to be okay, then?”

“From what we can see, yes.” Richards replied. “But, heat stroke in severe cases, can lead to some damage within.”

Richards turned back to Malcolm and rushed over to the boy when he saw his eyes closing. “Ah, ah, ah. No sleeping just yet, just a couple of words out of you and then you can relax, okay?”

Malcolm’s eyes fluttered and his tongue slowly came out of his mouth and licked his dry lips. The nurse on the other side reached for the cup of water and directed the straw into his mouth.

“Drink up, bud!” He encouraged.

Lois looked at Reese and rubbed his arm. “I’m glad you’re alright. I’m not doling out punishments right now. But I want a full explanation later young man.”

“It was my fault, not Malcolm’s.” Reese said quickly.

Lois was taken aback. That was the first time that she could recall Reese taking responsibility or taking blame for something he did instead of trying to place it on one of his brothers. Lois was a little proud, but she could see the guilt in her son’s eyes.

“Don’t be too upset, Reese. Malcolm will be fine, he’s not completely helpless, even though he seems like it sometimes.”

“Mom…?” A voice from the other side of the room croaked.

Lois and Reese looked over. Richards moved aside so that they could see Malcolm looking over at them, eyes half-lidded. Lois pushed herself off and moved towards her son leaning down and planting a kiss on his cheek.

“How are you feeling, honey?” She asked, voice quieter than the family was used to hearing.

“Tired…” Malcolm said.

Lois patted Malcolm’s pale face, scowling at how warm it was. Dewey had come over to Malcolm’s bedside. He glanced up at Lois before looking at Malcolm.

“I’m glad you’re not dead.” He said and gave Malcolm a quick hug.

Dewey turned to Reese and stared at him as if waiting to see if that would produce a reaction, but when Reese didn’t shout at Dewey for staring at him, the younger boy leaned over and gave Reese a rare hug. “I’m glad you’re not dead either.”

“Alright, then. How long does he need to stay here?” Lois asked.

“About a day or two,” Richards said. “we need to make sure there’s no other complications. If he’s doing better by tomorrow, we may be able to discharge him. But he can’t be in hot conditions. Patients who suffered from heat stroke, _and_ heat exhaustion, are susceptible to heat for the next week at least. So, Reese will be vulnerable as well. But once you get them home, keep Malcolm on observation.”

This _was_ a problem seeing as their car was a bit of a mess.

“Alright. Hal, I suppose we can get the ac up for a couple of hours? And maybe afford another night…and a hospital bill…” Lois said, voice wavering stressfully. “…we won’t be able to do anything for a while. Maybe some overtime…”

“D-don’t think too much a-about it…d-dear…” Hal stammered. “W-we’ll f-figure it out.”

“Also, you should really thank the women that picked them up.”

Sydney had been standing by the door, checking in and letting the nurse know she had to get going but she wanted to make sure everyone was alright.

“Oh, it was my pleasure. I couldn’t just leave them.”

“Thank you for not leaving them.” Lois said. “I’m not sure our lives would be better without those two.”

* * *

Lois had been relieved when Malcolm was discharged in late afternoon. The day was, in comparison, much cooler then the previous day, but it was still warm. She had packed everything up and left Hal and the boys in the car so she could pick Malcolm up. She brought her son some clothes from his bag. Malcolm looked better than the day before, but he still looked unwell.

“Alright,” she said, a firm grip around her son’s waist. “Reese told me the story last night. Why’d you go with him?”

“I…I don’t know.” Malcolm responded tiredly, leaning heavily against his mother.

“Whoa, can’t you walk on your own?”  
  
  


“Sorry…” He muttered. “…um…I don’t know. I’m sorry, I know we caused a lot of trouble.”

“Yeah, you both definitely did. Don’t worry, you’ll get your punishment when we get home.” Lois said.

“Mom…I didn’t want him to go out by himself. I think…I think he actually would’ve died. But…I didn’t…I—he…” Malcolm bit his lip. “He doesn’t think ahead. He _did_ trick me…but I wanted to go have fun with him because we haven’t done something together in a while…except fight.”

Lois paused right in front of the hospital doors and glanced at her son. Malcolm had always been the most sensitive and sentimental out of the family. Maybe she was just tired, or hot, but a small, genuine smile stretched across her face.

“I think Reese is feeling guilty enough that you should probably tell him that. I think he’s feeling remorseful enough to apologize. I’d milk it until you can’t anymore.” Lois said. “Come on, you look like you’re about to pass out. Your father has the air conditioning working for our trip, let’s not waste the money we spent.”

Lois hurried to get her son into the car. Just being in the sun for a few minutes had made his sunburns hotter, and him more fatigued. The moment Malcolm buckled, his eyes closed, and he was asleep within a minute. Lois climbed in and handed Reese a water bottle to put in Malcolm’s lap. Reese had received an earful when they had gone back to the hotel. He didn’t mind it he was kind of glad to be getting a little bit of punishment. He felt like he kind of deserved it. He glimpsed at Malcolm, dead asleep next to him. Reese sighed and leaned back himself, closing his eyes as if he could sleep. Maybe he would try though.

When they got home it was dark out, and Malcolm hadn’t stirred the entire ride. Reese had been surprised when he had woken up in the driveway of their home. He had actually fallen asleep. He guessed it wasn’t so surprising, seeing as he had been heat exhausted the other day. Reese and Dewey scooted out of the car, and Lois ordered them to unload luggage. Lois looked at Malcolm, still sound asleep.

“Well…he has been sleeping a long time…” She said. “…but the doctor did say for him to rest. So…Hal, maybe you could carry him inside without waking him up?”

Hal took being quiet to the next level, pulling the door handle so slowly it was agonizing. But it finally opened. He reached over and unbuckled the seatbelt and pushed one arm under Malcolm’s knees and the other behind his back. He maneuvered his son, grunting as he carefully pulled him out of the car. As he carried Malcolm inside the house, he was firstly surprised at how he hadn’t woken up yet, and then reminded of the days when Malcolm was little. He smiled at the nostalgia of carrying his third son to his room after he had fallen asleep on the couch.

Hal carried Malcolm into his room and proceeded to lay him down. Malcolm released a little sigh but otherwise didn’t wake up. Hal smiled down at him and kissed his forehead before leaving to help the others unload.

Malcolm woke up later that night. He blinked a few times, realizing he was no longer in the car, but in his own bed. Dewey was asleep next to him, underneath the covers while Malcolm was not. The third oldest couldn’t help but notice that Reese wasn’t in bed, or in the room for that matter. Blearily, Malcolm got up and left his room in search of his brother, and for some water while he was at it. Turns out, finding Reese wasn’t so hard. The lights were on in the kitchen, and that was where his older brother was. Sitting at the table, fidgeting with a chewed-up pencil.

“Reese?”

Reese looked up, “Malcolm, what are you doing out of bed?”

“Could ask the same for you…but, I was getting water.”

“Oh, well, you can have the water you never drank on the car ride. Here.” Reese pushed a water bottle that had been sitting on the table over towards Malcolm.

Malcolm shrugged and sat across from Reese, taking the water bottle and opening it.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yeah. I guess I needed some sleep…but, I could be better,” Malcolm said. “um…hey, thank you for, you know. Well, whatever you did really. I’m guessing it was getting me to the hospital.”

“No problem.” Reese murmured.

“Hey, Reese? Listen, there’s something I wanted to tell you. Don’t feel bad about all the stuff. I kinda just wanted to do something with you that wasn’t fighting. It was kind of fun until it turned into a…disaster.”

Reese was quiet for a second, “I’m glad to hear that, actually. Cuz’ I was feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing. I know I almost got you killed and…and—”  
  


“No. It wasn’t _you_ , technically it was the _sun_.”

“Still. I’m sorry.” Reese said, oddly quiet and out of character. “And I don’t really like fighting all the time either. I can’t help it when you are a good scapegoat, but I get where you’re coming from. I’m sorry for drinking all the water and getting us lost and getting us in the situation in the first place.”

“It’s okay.”

“But, if you ever, _ever_ look like you’re going to die _ever_ again I swear I’ll beat you up so bad!”

And there was the normal Reese. Malcolm was happy to see that nothing broke his spirits permanently. He hated seeing Reese so upset about something.

“I got it, won’t happen again,” Malcolm said, raising his hands in defense. “Thanks again, Reese.”

“Yeah. You’re a person that I like. I-er…I love you, bro. But _don’t you dare go blabbering_ or I will _kill you_!”

Malcolm rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”

In the end, Malcolm was just glad that Reese was here. Even though he had gotten them into the situation, he had still saved Malcolm's life and he knew that he could always trust Reese. Because they were brothers, and no matter what they would be there for each other, through the good and the bad. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading all the way through to the end. You are a blessing. Bless you.


End file.
